It Runs In The Family
by GEFM 420
Summary: 16yr old Joanna Kent is trying to figure out what to do with her life. After realizing that her parents [Clark and Lois Kent] were big time reporters in their day, she too begins her own investigating team with her friend Erick. But is it all for good?
1. Chapter 1

**It Runs In the Family**  
**By: GEFM**

**  
Chapter 1**

Her feet padded across the floor, quietly. Each step was marked with a hastened and compulsory silence.

The building was abandoned, which in it of itself coursed curiosity in her veins. Only yesterday she was knee deep in a story here, and the equipment used to test god knows what piled high to the ceiling of this place.

J.L Kent didn't really spend much time in these sort of run down dirt ridden crime infested areas. But she was 16 now, and defiance was about as rich in her as any other emotion. Her parental units may have warned against the solitary investigation biz, but playing P.I has pretty much been the highlight of her night excursions. Plus they warned strongly. They didn't explicitly forbid her.

The gray area was way too tempting.

It's not like its really all that dangerous in Metropolis anymore. The hero boom down there has made things a little more comforting on the streets. Out of all the crime fighters in the world we definitely got the best draw; Superman.

I'm Joanna's best friend, Erick. And yeah, I got dragged into this whole thing too. I'm hiding behind a garbage can right now as a look out. Some look out.

I'm what you'd call the underdeveloped high schooler. The only six-pack I know of is in my father's fridge down stairs. I can bench press my little baby sister and that's about it.

And that's why I allow myself to be forced into these compromising situations, because of J.L.

The girl isn't "cool" by anyone's standards but everyone knows her. She's the champion of the lessors. In a way, I think she's the first person to ever do that. It occurred to her that there was so many more 'us' than the minority of 'them'. That idea alone was revolutionary.

She has this innate sense of justice, a feeling of right and wrong that she judges everything by. She stands up for us, she always has. It's not in a physical way; she's just as feisty as a mad pitbull. The girl is real aggressive and gets the point across with daggers.

You'd think that "the cools" would make her out to be some sort of _Queen of the nerds_ but they respect her and her authority. She was immediately offered the presidential position in the student government this year but declined. That's how J.L is; modest, calm, but powerful.

Not to mention strikingly beautiful. Her dark hair flows shoulder length, wavy in the right spots. Her eyes are piercing blue, like she can see right through you. She got them from her father, J.L once told me. She's not "hot" or anything, but she has a different brand of attractiveness to her. Its real, it's earthly.

She is the most amazing person I have ever met and…if you haven't figured it out already, I'm totally and completely, hopelessly in love with her.

J.L on the other hand has always separated romance from her life. She's not a tom-boy and she cries too much for her own good but…Well she once told me that she had bigger plans for herself and she didn't really want to affect her decisions now. She wanted to get there first and then get the rest later.

I don't really think that's how it works. I mean, no one goes looking for love it hits you like a bus on a sunny day. That's what happened to me anyway.

J.L moved to our corner of Kansas back in 9th grade and really shook me up. You might have heard of some of the small towns around here; Grandville, Smallville, pretty much all of Lowell County. We're about ten times smaller than those guys, so much so we only got internet a few years ago. I was this nobody photographer at Grover high when she arrived, an ambitious girl with a penchant for getting herself in tight spots.

Now, I'm a pretty safe guy and am quite a worrier but she couldn't have that. If I was going to be her person, her confidante, and one day her guy, that had to be altered. We met in journalism class, which we were both mistakenly placed into. We had befriended over the terrible assignment. I realized then that her energy had no outlet to escape to. She always wanted to do something extraordinary but she didn't know what yet.

She was lost but luckily there were so many options. She excelled most in English but was also very skilled in Math and Science. It occurred to me early on that the girl could do anything.

Her parents Clark and Lois Kent were pretty well off because Mrs. Kent had written some book that had made enough money to last them a good lifetime. J.L was close to them, but they were very secretive about their private lives. I've spent a good amount of hours staying up with Joanna listening to her frustrations about it.

I think it's awful really. I can't imagine not knowing my family's history. Not that it would be difficult for me to find out. The Abelson's have been rooted here in Grover for practically an eternity.

I've really only ever seen her mom around, I try not to press the issue of the whereabouts of her father but I'm told he has a steady job in Metropolis and works long hours. At least that's how Mrs. Kent accounts for his absence.

I guess that's what this whole new phase is with J.L. She's finally begun digging her way into her past trying to figure out what it is everyone's been hiding. It started when we were perusing the library with our English class one day, when I had spotted a book in the biography section called, "Lane and Kent: Daily Planet's Dynamic Duo". My eyes were pretty sharp about these minute details (photo geek, ya know) and I was certain that the couple I saw on the binding were definitely familiar faces. We immediately took it out—after withstanding the awestricken look of realization from our teacher—and brought it to my house to review. Her parents were partners at the Daily Planet, where they had reportedly met. It was a humorous shock when we realized that they were celebrities in their day. Her mother had won three Pulitzers for her work on Superman and Mr. Kent had helped unearth various other expositions on large-scale corruption cases.

"_Your mom discovered Superman?" I furrowed my brows at her in utter amazement._

"_Looks like it." She grabbed the book off the table where I had laid it down and stared at the page blankly._

_Her nonchalance bewildered me. "Don't you see how amazing this is? I mean, she even dated him!"_

"_Yeah, it's something." _

J.L wasn't nearly as thrilled as I'd been about the whole thing. The entire time I read the documentation no matter how enthusiastic my narration, she sat cold, distant, detached. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was disappointed about something. What exactly I couldn't place. I decided to let it go at the time, but it still bothers me. It obviously hasn't stopped bothering her.

That's why we're here. At least I think it is. Lately, she's been on a mission. Maybe it's a competition I'm not sure but I sense her agitation growing each time we hit a dead end in a story. It was just a stupid thing to do on weekends, take a bus into the city, creep around for some bate, and follow it somewhere. It was an adventure; it was fun.

Except now its mutating, she's investing herself in our journalism class to the point of obsession. Our teacher, Mr. Katz has already dubbed her the star of our journalism class, not just for devotion but for natural talent.

She is desperate to make a name for herself. I don't get why exactly. We're only 16, juniors in high school. But then, even though we're close there's always been a part of her I don't completely understand.

"'Ms. Lane was able to convince Pauline Kahn, the famously ridged Editor of the Daily Planet at the time, of her talents and became the youngest reporter to be hired at the paper. Lois had a history of breaking records, she was also the youngest intern and columnist at 15.'"

"Your mom has gotten exponentially cooler in the past five minutes."

J.L looked away absorbed in her thoughts. "It certainly explains why the woman can't make cookies, that's for sure."

I heard a loud crash and feet shuffling inside. Being the lookout, I was assigned a call––a crow's caw actually—except when I'm stressed and scared I can't really remember that kind of thing. _**BAM**_

Okay, that was a gunshot. I'm sufficiently stressed.

"Joanna! Get out!" I jumped on the trash bin and propped myself up to a musty window that gave me a crummy view of what was going on. Basically, it was bad. J.L was running away from a couple of two stereotypical evil henchmen, big, stupid looking, and lucky for us, slow runners too.

After climbing off of the pile of garbage I ran to meet her at the door. I grabbed her by the hand when she got out and we ran like all hell. This is officially the worse it's ever gotten.

Introspective moment… remind me again why I'm doing this.

We get to my car, because we've out run the two idiots. Did I mention I can drive? I can. We quit the bus thing the moment I got my license and started working as undercover investigators. The get away car is no babe magnet—that is of course unless I meet a girl who's into minivans for some reason—but she's dependable.

I'm about to pull out when she leans over to me. "Thanks Erick. You saved my life." I feel her kiss me on cheek, not long but it was no quickie either.

Reflection over: That's why.

I try really hard not to turn and look at her because, somewhere north I'm very aware that there is still a pair of psychopaths after us. That's doesn't mean that everything south isn't very aware about something… else.

We speed away and are safe after some of what J.L calls my acrobat driving stunts. I have to admit that I do, do some crazy things on the road, but it's the stress. I don't enjoy it at all.

"Did you get any good shots?"

"Not really. I don't know if you noticed but the building was completely vacant." She stuck a tongue out at me playfully.

"What I really can't understand is how they caught on so quickly let alone how they could manage to clean it all up in a day."

"That's what these guys are great at. We obviously stumbled on something big and they had to protect that information, fast."

"Damn it." J.L banged a fist on the dashboard, rattling me. "People deserve to know this is going on. They can't take all that charity money and use it for illegal drug production."

"You got to admit that there's a poetic irony to it. We donate to Narcotics Anonymous to find it all trickle down into the hands of dealers who are out there to get more people addicted."

She shot me a quizzical look. "Only you would find something humorous in this."

"That's why you keep me around. The quick wit." I made a right onto her street.

"Lord no." Her house was the first on the left and I pulled into its driveway. "You're the only one I know with a car." She chided and smiled. God her smile, that was what I loved most. It lit up the world.

I managed my own grin, uncertain but brought to life by her energy.

She slammed the door and stepped onto the paved path to her door. I would normally walk her in but she had told me that she felt weird about it a couple of days ago. "We're not dating. I don't want to give people to get the wrong idea about us." Yeah, because that would be _terrible_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Half way to her door she stopped dead in her tracks and its abruptness caught my attention. I rolled down my window, "Joanna, what's wrong?" She stood silent, continuing to stare up at her house. I followed her gaze and saw a man standing there, in the bedroom opposite J.L's. It was her father.

Recognizing what was going on, I left the van at once and crossed to her. I led her to the house and pressed the bell. When we got there she seemed to come to suddenly.

"My father's home early. I'd really like you to meet him. That is if you can stay longer, I know your mom is strict on curfew."

I knew she wasn't asking for my benefit but for her own. She was scared, unsure. I don't think I've ever seen Joanna frightened. It was unsettling to see for sure.

J.L may be the inquisitive one in our partnership but right now a million questions are rattling around in my brain.

Who was this guy? Why was she acting like she hasn't seen him in years? Was he dangerous? Was he an abuser? An adulterer? Did he leave them? Did they leave him?

He was commonly and religiously referred to as mild mannered in every publication I read about him. Was it possible that he led a double life?

Mrs. Kent opened the door and we filed in once Jo explained why I was here. Mrs. K went upstairs to get her husband and the length of the wait worried me.

The Kent's had a respectable household and in some places it was easy to see that they were Metropolitan people. Curiously though, the living space was rural and comfortable. They valued the feel of the home more than utility and top of the line gadgetry. It was a country home.

I took a seat on the antique red coach with J.L in the living room, and kept my eyes trained on the stair for the appearance of Mr. Kent.

Then there was a shuffle from above and a formidable 6-foot tall shape appeared from the stairs, adjacent to the couch. He gave me one look over, and I noticed automatically the similarity he shared with his daughter. The eyes especially. Almost bleeding blue, I was afraid he could see my soul and every not so friendly thought I've had for J.L, which are basically numerous. The confidence and the fight in her had to come from him.

He grinned and outstretched his hand to me. "Erick, it's nice to finally put a face to the name." Not the smile though, it was too quirky and lopsided.

I offered my own unremarkable smile and took his large hand. I couldn't think of what to say; his absentee role isn't exactly normal. "I hope you don't mind me bringing Joanna so late to dinner, Mr. Kent."

"Mind? No, not at all. From what Lois was telling me, Jo would have to walk home everyday if it weren't for you. I'm grateful." He patted me on the shoulder and led me into the dinning hall.

Okay so he seems like a good guy, I'm starting to get more confused about this whole thing. How could J.L be afraid of him?

"Jo says you're the school photographer." He sat at the head of the table, with Mrs. Kent opposite and us kids on either side. "How do you get on? Do you like it?" He dug into a bowl of mash potatoes and placed them on his plate. I got the idea that he was a very hefty eater.

"I really love it. I'm actually thinking of making a career out of it." I helped pass a bowl to Mrs. Kent. "And as for talent, well I like to think I'm improving. My teacher thinks I'm good, but from what I understand he's not much of an authority."

"Don't sell yourself short. Jo's showed me some shots and I'm sincerely impressed. Pursue it." Wow, Clark Kent thinks my pictures are impressive. I was positive that I was blushing. In order to mask it, I took a bite of my steak. I noticed the freshness of it. It was the best I've ever tasted. Jo said her mom couldn't cook, guess she was wrong.

Shoveling more into my mouth, I could barely pause to swallow. "Wow, Mrs. K this is great."

"Is it? Well I'll be sure to compliment the chef." She smiled at her husband and then refocused on her plate.

It was hard to believe, sitting with them in such normality that these two had once been such celebrity. It was impossible to know they were anything more than they said. A Metropolitan businessman and a retired novelist. I wanted to know more, there seemed to be more to the picture then they said. I wasn't an expert but I could see a million missing details.

In my excitement, I blurted out a burning question of mine. "How did you two meet?" At almost the exact same time, wearing the exact same expression, J.L's parents looked at one another in confusion. "Sorry, I—" Suddenly I felt completely out of line. "It's just what my parents always ask couples when they're over at my house." I hoped they understood me in my rush of words. Look at me, embarrassing myself in front of J.L's dad. They'll never let me come over again.

Mrs. Kent recovered and smiled pleasantly at me. J.L's smile. "Oh don't be sorry dear. It's just been a long time since we've been asked. Let's see…"

Jo rolled her eyes at me. "Oh come on, Mom. Your memory is the sharpest of anyone."

Her dad chimed in. "Yours isn't bad either." He was right, she had freakishly good memory. She still remembers our entire first conversation verbatim. Sucks to go against that in arguments though.

Mrs. K set down her knife and fork. "I was fourteen when my father got a new job as plant manager at Lexcorp."

I finally stopped eating to listen, which is impressive seeing as almost nothing can make me reject food. "Lexcorp?" I've never heard of the company.

"That's the former CEO of Luthorcorp's first business. He employed half of our town." Mr. Kent answered, following a massive intake of more potatoes.

"Anyway, the Plant was in Smallville and after growing up in Metropolis my whole life I saw it as a massive downgrade."

"I was called into the principal's office on the first day, terrified that I'd done something wrong. When there was this eccentric—"

"Excuse me, eccentric? Quirky maybe, but mad scientist? I think not."

"This new girl, wearing your everyday teenage non-conformist clothing—"

"You make it sound like I was in a grunge band, or trying to start an anarchist revolution."

"No, I didn't. Erick, did you think she was an anarchist?"

I felt cornered and petrified. No answer seemed to be the right one. I settled for honest. "No, sir."

Then it hit me. They weren't fighting or bickering. It was playful, quick witted. It was what J.L and I did all the time. Just older.

She shrugged in defeat as he continued with the story. "She was different from the farm girls I'd always known. Probably like J.L was to you when we first moved here. She wanted to know what was going on out there and Smallville was far from what really mattered to her."

"Which was?" They both looked at one another and said in remarkable unison.

"Metropolis." That surprised me. Did she really love the city that much?

"I was assigned to show her around and demonstrate that just because we lived on farms didn't mean we were all Amish and electricity hating. When I took her up to my barn, she kissed me right out of the blue." They smiled at one another.

"So you two were high school sweethearts then?" That's not what the books said.

Mrs. K scoffed as she forced more salad on J.L's plate. "Hardly. He only had eyes for this vixen who lived next door to him back then. It took him years to realize she was bad news."

"Not just me. She was her best friend." There was a disappointment in his eyes. "You two used to be like sisters."

Jo seemed to be getting increasingly more frustrated with this conversation, so I held off anymore questioning. I just really hated her not knowing these things about her parents. It wasn't right that they never told her before she went digging on her own.

"I hope you haven't fallen into the same trap, Erick." Somehow, I couldn't help looking at J.L "Those girls are something else. They seem fantastic and beautiful, but in the end you realize they've never really known you. It's always been about them." She caught my eye and stared back.

"No, sir." I broke off to acknowledge Mr. Kent. "I put my school and my friends first." In the corner of my eye, I watched with curiosity as Mrs. K looked over J.L with concern. "Girls can come later."

Without warning, Mrs. Kent stood up to clear the table. Joanna offered to help quickly and they went off with the dirty dishes in hand.

"So Erick, I have a proposition for you. First, you are serious about photography, right?"

"Very much sir."

"And journalism? How do you feel about that?"

"I take a course now with J.L, we both like it alright."

"I know a couple of people and I think I could get you a summer job if you're interested. Maybe even with Olsen. Do you know James Olsen?"

"Of course! He took the first real picture of Superman."

"I might be able to get you an interview with him. How does that sound?" When the words sunk in I felt as if all the wind was knocked out of me.

"Sound? That—That would be amazing! Thank you sir." If I stood up now I'd collapse back into my chair. My legs felt like absolute Jell-O.

The girls came back into the dining room, looking tired from more than just washing. J.L had her arms folded in a very displeased manner. "What's amazing?

"Your dad offered to get me a job at a newspaper this summer. Maybe even working for Jimmy Olsen. Can you believe it, Jo?" I felt myself getting swept away in my excitement. This night was turning out better for me than I could have ever expected. "I never realized how awesome it could be to have Daily Planet's duo for parents."

And then I was back on solid ground again.

"Erick!" Jo admonished with tears filling her eyes and then ran out of the room. I desperately wanted to follow her and apologize but I had my own obstacle. Lane and Kent.

They were whispering frantically to one another, none of which I could understand because they were both speaking inhumanely low and fast.

Lane turned on me, demandingly. "Erick, are you friends with Joanna because of us?" They were immediately two different people, as if when I mentioned they're other life they assumed the roles instinctively.

"No! I'd never... We only found out a couple of months ago, I swear. There was a book in the Library. We didn't tell anyone else and our journalism teacher only thinks it a fortunate coincidence that J.L is an aspiring journalist with Kent for a last name. Luckily Kent is a common Kansan name."

Lane sized me up and then looked to Kent. "I believe him." But Kent wasn't convinced. He swooped over me like a vulture.

"Listen, Erick. If I ever think you're just messing with Jo to get yourself into the spotlight I'll be around to set you straight. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." As scary as he was and as terrified as I was of being set I couldn't hold back a sliver of anger I had. "But, I want to make it clear that I hate what you're doing to J.L. How can you have kept all of this from her? Yeah it makes sense not to shout it from the rooftops, but she's your daughter. Who is she going to expose you to?"

Lane turned defensive and canine. "You don't understand. Not everything is as simple as you think. If you ever get out of Grover, you might get a chance to see that."

Kent handed (or thrust) my jacket to me and politely asked me to leave with some leftovers. I was shoved out the door and it was slammed behind me without a second for my rebuttal.

I stared up at the second story room I knew was J.L's. She stood behind the curtain, watching my every move from above.

"I'm sorry." I climb into my truck and pull out of the driveway until I was parallel to the house. "I'm sorry J.L."

I couldn't stop repeating it as I drove away. _I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry._

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Joanna Lane Kent is biological. She's got Lois' smile and Clark's eyes. Dark hair and the spirit of both. They never told her their secrets, not even about the Planet. Hope that clears it up.  
_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

School. Morning. Monday.

Nothing about today shows promise and I really, really want to sleep.

But I have a presentation that counts for some ridiculous portion of my Econ grade—inappropriate for the amount of meager work required—due today and unless I want to stay in high school one more year I have to get up and do it.

Brushing my teeth in my mirror and taking a shower takes no time at all. The clothes in my closet are sort of untidy. It takes a while to find two socks that match. There isn't anything in my closet that doesn't scream **Erick, the nice guy**. There isn't anything in here that could mask my identity.

Maybe if I wear a paper bag on my head. I mean, it's kinda conspicuous, but maybe just maybe some people will mistake me for someone else, and maybe one person will miss me completely.

I walk bleary-eyed to the kitchen closet, all plastic bags. Not a single brown bag except the lunch variety that couldn't hide my hand if I wanted it to.

Whatever. It's not like some girl could ever stop me from going to school and – and living my life. And I'm not afraid. She's an all around non-violent girl, minus the _friendly_ arm punches she gives me sometimes. They aren't too bad. They don't bruise long.

Plus, it's been two whole days. She can't be nearly as mad as she was Friday. Even if she was, it's not like she'd hit me. Not in school. I think. Oh man, she's going to be pissed.

Damn I'm late. I tail the bus on the road, it opens. Eventually.

Okay so that settles it. If I see her, I run. In journalism class, steal the seat farthest from her. Then when schools out I bolt home. It's only like 3 miles; I can do it before she catches me.

The window seat. Not so bad. The company: All freshman except one senior who I think has been in "_**the Class of**__"_ since I was in 8th and a pungent homeless man I've never seen get off the bus.

The Narrow Hallway. Where my locker is, where her locker is. After giving the place a look over, I don't see anyone in sight. I clamor my locker open nervously. All of my books are organized to save time (did it in the bus), the ones I need for just the morning pour in.

I scurry away unseen. I'm so good. I should be an agent. Like those stealth operatives that—

**RUN!**

I turn the corner in record time. I saw her nearing the Science labs. But she doesn't have science now.

Why am I SO jittery? Odds are, it was a random girl with dark hair. Blast you dark haired girls.

In Economics, after I gave my presentation that was well informed but poorly orated, I snuck out 5 minutes early feigning a stomachache. A limping brown haired girl appears and I put a hand to my face to mask it as I head for the stairs. A floor below I wait in front of Mr. Katz's room, the bell seems eons away.

My foot is tapping so fast it almost matches my heartbeat and I'm vaguely aware that I must be scoffing the floor badly. The door swings open and a rush of overtired, blatantly bored teens stream out, scattering in various directions for their next class.

Mr. Katz approaches from down the hall, which confuses me until I see the sign on the door:

**CHORUS WILL BE HELD TEMPORARILY DURING PER. 6-7 IN Rm. 214.**

Mr. Katz will be available in the teacher's lounge

The Choral director exited and huffed in Mr. Katz direction as if he offended him somehow. Katz was a tall guy, dark brown eyes and hair with a full beard in the forest sense and a crooked nose from a fly ball, but his mannerism was always in jest. He always seemed to be amused by one thing or another.

"Abelson!" He finally accounted for my looming presence. "I just ran into Ms. Hill and she said not to expect you. You decide not to go to the nurse then?"

I was unsure how to act, but all I felt was guilty. I rarely make a habit of taking sick days or lying to teachers so when I was caught in a mix I was at a loss.

He laughed gutturally and put a heavy hand on my back. "That's alright. Economics used to make me just as nauseous. I only know enough to get through Wall Street Journal without my head spinning."

I crack a smile and (as soon as the door is open to me) streamline for the seat by the window all the way in the back which is as far as I can get from her seat next to the door.

Mr. Katz raises a bushy brow to me. "New seat, Abelson. Trying for better prospects?"

"What prospects, sir?" At that very moment Tessa Grant, a clumsy Senior that was highly attractive in the curvy, mesmerizing…

"Excuse me?" …divine and heaven sent… "Excuse me?" She was talking to me. I was staring. Open mouth staring.

"Uh...sorry." My trap snapped shut and I fixated on a very interesting branch outside.

"You're in my seat, Erick." Her voice, I looked at her but I felt like I couldn't hear.

Absentmindedly I picked up my bag and moved one seat forward. I didn't even need a mirror to know I was smiling broadly.

Somewhere I heard another deep laugh and the mumble of "Better prospects."

She knew my name.

Two or Three minutes later when the spell seemed to wear off I thought about Tessa again in a strictly philosophical way. I wasn't crazy about her, she was a ditz and had very little personality, but she was something to look at.

Then there was Jo, who I never had enough control to stop staring at. All the time, she'd just be twiddling her pen or writing a note. I was watching her. Everything about her was I dunno…it was different. She was completely different from what I've known. The Yes, sir's and No, mame's, the inauthentic manners. She was straight to the point, directed, strong, and brilliant. She's not perfect, but I like that you can see it, that she knows it. I think I understand her more than anyone else, but there's so much there I could never uncover. She's a mystery and I want to know her.

Even when I know it all, I'm sure I'll still be staring, ready for the next surprise.

A pair of girls entered giggling and trading whispers, behind them was the dark haired menace I was so readily avoiding. I thought I would catch a glimpse of her face and try to read it, gauge how angry and resentful she looked.

Right when the gigglers moved down the isle and revealed J.L I turned away instinctively. I was terrified of what could be written on her face. Was it hate? Sadness? I had no idea and right now I was happy with ignorant bliss.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her look at the seat next to hers that was normally mine, then around the room as she fixed her messenger bag strap and spotted me. Her expression was indifferent and it remained unchanged and unaffected. She swung the bag over her shoulder and let it fall next to her desk, where she then sat.

It was the first journalism class Mr. Katz wasn't berated with J.L's questions and points. In fact she didn't speak at all. It was so peculiar and rare that Mr. Katz finished early when he normally keeps us ten minutes late. For the first time all year, the lesson was entirely boring. I almost wanted to be back in Econ (almost).

We spent fifteen minutes considering the difference between Journals and regular Newspapers, by request of none other than Tessa Grant. And every now and then when I mastered the art of sleeping with my eyes open, the gigglers would burst out in a fit of more giggles.

It was torture and I hoped that J.L would be back to normal by tomorrow, or by the very least Wednesday, because I doubt I can survive three whole periods of this.

The free time at the end of the period was spent with my head on the desk of whoever normally sits with Tessa.

The end of day bell rang like sweet music. I immediately grabbed my bag and slung it on my right shoulder. Before most people even stood up I was at the door. I glanced at J.L out of habit and her long bangs swayed as she looked up at the same moment. Normally, I would have stopped, smiled and waited for her to walk her to the lockers. Something in me kept me going and before I knew it I was in the narrow hallway, clawing things from my locker in blindly and shoving whatever I could into my small black bag. After it was sufficiently bloated and to breaking point I slammed the door to reveal J.L leaning against her locker facing me with arms folded.

"Boo." She looked _mildly_ annoyed.

I don't know exactly what happened next, it was all pretty blurry. But within moments I was out the back door of the school running home at top-speed. I was off the school grounds when I slowed down.

So she confronted me, and I ran. I just don't want to hear her say she hates me or that we aren't friends anymore. If she doesn't say it, technically we're still friends, right?

I turned on my heel and sighed, looking up at Grover high.

I don't know what made me do it, but I ran all the way back, into the corridor I had come. She was still there fishing her blue Met U sweater out of her cubbyhole, which was a little out of her reach. Being several inches taller, I grabbed it for her and handed it over.

We both held on to the hoodie for a moment as she scanned me curiously, with surprise in her eyes. When she took it and put it on she mumbled, "Thank you."

We walked through the narrow hallway together and past the other now vacant third floor classes. "Not that I'm not grateful or anything, but isn't this antithetical to the _head-for-the-hills_ thing you've been doing all day?"

"I figured I should face you now. Get it over with." I noticed the misstep in her stride. She was the limping girl.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Face me? About what?"

About what!? "Friday." I removed the DUH I had considered.

"Oh." She looked away from me for a moment as we descended the stairwell. There was so much tension, I started creating distance between us just in case she remembered how much she hated me and pushed me down the remaining steps.

Then as if a light switch had gone off in her brain she turned back to me laughing and smiling. "Jeeze, I never realized how terrifying I come off. You must have thought I was going to kill you."

My mouth must be hanging open. "You're not mad?"

She shook her head, still smiling. "Did I seem mad?"

"Well…I—I guess not." I scratched my head to have something to do. "To be honest I was too afraid to even look at you and see. In Katz you looked sort of upset. I mean, you didn't talk at all."

"That was because I thought you were angry at me or something. You were across the room talking to Tessa and before that you walked away from me in the hall." I sighed with relief. "Plus I'm not feeling 100 percent today."

"Right, I noticed that." We both looked pointedly at her strained leg, which I realized was bandaged. The sunshine hit us when we made it through the doors. "What happened?"

She chuckled and stepped down the stairs. "You won't believe me." I lingered behind for a second on the last step when she went on ahead.

"Try me."

J.L crossed back to me and leaned in. I bent down a little so she'd be in proximity with my ear. "I was…shot."

"WHAT?" I almost jumped out of my skin. "You were WHAT!?"

"Shh… Erick, shut up!" A few people had turned to watch us. She grabbed my shirt and tugged until we were by the outside lunch tables.

In a lower managed voice, "What?"

"Last night. I took the 3:50 bus into Metropolis. I went back to the empty dealer's lot and all the equipment was there again."

She sat on one of the tables surrounded by trees. "That's dumb."

I followed suit. "Exactly what I thought. It was fishy, but I couldn't help going in."

"Of course you couldn't."

After pausing to roll her eyes at me, she went on. "I was afraid that it was a trap for us, but I guess the last two lackeys must've told them we were just kids. They had the biz up and running. I got pictures and everything." She patted her bag triumphantly.

"Wanna see em?" I was surprised how she'd done this all on her own.

"They're not great quality, I only have a digital." She passed me the packet of photos she pulled from her bag. "But they get the point across."

Pictures of cocaine in a briefcase and many many more identical briefcases. Pictures of documents and of the equipment of the facility. I replaced them all in the fold.

"This is fantastic Jo. You can get front page for this." J.L grabbed the envelope and stowed it in her bag.

"Not exactly. We have no one to tie it to. All we know is there was a major drug deal when these were taken, and that these drugs are somewhere now, but that isn't any help to the cops or a story any one would be interested in. The documents have some names and address on them though. I bet we can track those."

"This investigative reporting stuff is a lot harder than I thought."

"Yeah well…Oh! I almost forgot the part you wanted to know. One of the drones caught me sneaking around and signaled an alert to a couple more guards. They must've stepped up security since our last break in."

"And then?"

"And then I ran, but without your getaway van I had a lot more to do before I was in the clear. I was climbing the fence across from the lot when I was clipped in the leg and later on in the chest by a guard who refused to let me go."

"But you got away?"

"They were rubber bullets, that's why I only have bruises."

"Jesus, Joanna." I would have been scared to death if I was there. I can't imagine being shot, twice.

"Alliteration." She laughed as she hopped off the table, back on to the grass. There was a soft beep that I recognized from her wristwatch. "That means I'm late. Gotta run, Erick! Or Hobble away slowly in my case." She turned to go for the buses, which were past the lakes and over an old bridge.

I jogged to catch up. "Wait, do you need me to carry you to the bus?"

Her head shot up and for a moment I saw something in her eyes…unusual. She looked around the campus and adjusted her strap again.

"No, my dad's picking me up. I told him I hit my leg on a chair on the Metro bus coming back and now he's sworn me off buses." J.L smiled and then headed for the student parking lot.

I shouted after her "J.L!" She threw a look over her shoulder. ""Are you sure we're cool?" Without a word Jo continued smiling as she walked away.

We're cool.

I stared into the sky and let out a breath I was holding since I walked back into school.

Every step toward my house seemed shorter and all I could remember was that she wasn't mad at me.

Nothing else mattered.

**TBC...**


End file.
